How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies Quickly

Every year around this time, we get many fruit flies in our house (obviously, because we leave out fruit or some sweet smelling food that attracts them). Sometimes we don’t care if they are around but it becomes very annoying when you have lots of them.

Here are two techniques that we have used successfully in the past to get them out of your kitchen. The first technique will get rid of most of them quickly while the second technique will get rid of them slowly over time. You should be able to keep them away using both techniques.

Technique 1
If you have many fruit flies then this technique would help you trap the ones flying around your kitchen. The ones you don’t catch in this step will be trapped using the second technique.

1. Grab a disposable plastic or Styrofoam plate and cover it with a layer of Pam cooking oil spray or similar.
2. Whenever you see a fruit fly, swat them with the plate to trap them in the oil.

When I did this step last year, I caught twenty-five fruit flies in about twenty minutes.

While this technique works to get rid of lots of them quickly, you’re still going to miss a few. That’s where technique number two comes in. Whatever you don’t catch with the plate you’ll get with the trap you’ve setup.

Technique 2
This technique involves setting up a trap for these annoying little buggers.

1. Grab a Mason Jar (Glass jar with a metal lid)
2. Fill the jar halfway with a vinegar and sugar mixture. It really doesn’t matter how much you put in. What I do is fill it up half way with vinegar and then pour in a few spoonfuls of sugar. Then I shake up the contents so it is all mixed. This sweet/sour mixture is perfect for attracting fruit flies.
3. Add a drop or two of liquid soap to the mixture. This will kill them.
4. Puncture about four small holes into the lid of the jar. The holes should be just large enough for them to get into the jar easily but not get out.
5. Leave the jar in the corner of your kitchen counter.

After several days, you’ll notice more and more fruit flies floating in the jar (yummy!).

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10 thoughts on “How to Get Rid of Fruit Flies Quickly

  • August 9, 2009 at 1:57 pm
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    Great advice. We have way too many in our house. We did this technique and caught around 20 fruit flies in no time. thanks.

    Reply
  • April 8, 2010 at 7:01 pm
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    this is ood advice, for a few, but my kitchen is swarming with the little bastards, i find filling a bowl with red wine and a little dish soap then covering it with seran wrap and poking some small holes in it works, caught about 200-300 in a night, also, if you don’t mind cleaning up afterwards, spraying them with hairspray works, freezes the wings right up when it drys and they just can’t move (y)

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  • March 26, 2011 at 12:49 am
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    man, this advice is perfect, i use the oil techinque, caught over 500, cus some idiot in our unit store garbage in a closet.

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  • June 30, 2011 at 8:30 pm
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    this advice was awesome me and my bro turned it into a game

    Reply
  • October 1, 2011 at 10:08 pm
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    I can’t stand the little buggers I use dish soap and white vinegar and set it on the counter it really works. I have more than half of them gone, be glad when they all leave I also have a fruitfly trap I paid 8.00 dollars for before I looked at this site. thanks for the idea.

    Reply
  • October 12, 2011 at 6:02 pm
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    Apple juice with dish soap works well too, anything that is sweet and sticky!

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  • Pingback: 10+ Effective Homemade Fly Traps to Deal with Fruit Fly Infestation | The Self-Sufficient Living

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